Village Squire, 1977-08, Page 16DA YTRIPPING
Taking highway and byway
to discover the lost villages
This month we wander some backroads
and highways visiting some villages which
in some cases hardly exist anymore. It's a
long trip taking the better part of an
afternoon so be prepared. Perhaps a picnic
lunch might be a good idea.
We start the trip at Port Albert on the
lakeshore and work our way inland. Port
Albert is today mostly known as a summer
vacation village for many people and
cottages crowd the cliffs and nestle around
the mouth of the Lucknow River. It was
once a port with sailing schooners docking
in the bay at the river mouth but the ship
channel silted in so that today there is no
clear mouth of the river. It's still a mecca
though to salmon and trout that fight their
way up stream to spawn and has become a
popular fishing spot. There is a new fish
ladder being built there to help the fish on
their journey.
From the village make your way up the
hills to Highway 21 and turn left. On your
right as you drive north was once an air
base during the second World War for
training Commonwealth air crews for the
European war. Today only a bit of the old
fencing shows where the base was.
Take the first turn on your right by the
M.J. Smith company elevator complex and
head on the paved road east toward
Dungannon. You are in Ashfield township
one of the more prosperous farming areas
in Huron county and there are a few
examples of large farms along the road.
The road takes you straight into
Dungannon. On your right on the way into
the village you'll see the fair grounds and a
Targe log house reconstructed on a site at
the village's edge.
Dungannon is typical of many of the
villages that lie almost forgotten by the
outside world these days. It was once a
thriving centre for the local farming
community. Back in 1887 it contained three
general stores, shoe shops, tin shop, two
hotels, a large carriage shop, a steam grist
mill and sawmill and three churches. The
churches remain but few of the stores are
now open. There's one attraction for the
traveller though and that's the Eedy
Bakery which produces a very good
product.
Turn left at the main corner of the village
and head north out of town along county
road 1. The first concession north of the
village on your right (West Wawanosh 6-7)
turn right. You'll drive about five miles
through some pretty hilly and wooded
countryside before you come to St.
PG. 14. VILLAGE SQUIRE/AUGUST 1977.
Augustine. Today the Catholic church
dominates the village just as it always has
since the Irish Catholic settlers cleared the
land and set up their farms. The old school
nearby has been turned into a home and
one of the few buildings left is the old store
across from the church which is still in
operation. That store is the setting for
many of the stories told in the books of
Harry J. Boyle who grew up here. Mr.
Boyle besides being an author is chairman
of the Canadian Radio Telecommunications
Commission which governs the communic-
ations industry in Canada.
Through the village you'll soon come to
Donnybrook just about a mile down the
road, if you don't miss it. There isn't much
left of the little place anymore. Just a
church and a solitary house. It was once
the site, however, of one of the first rural
fairs in the area; a fair that finally
disappeared because of cheap liquor and
rowdy fighting made it impossible to carry
on a civilized affair. There's a park just
down the dead-end road ahead but our trip
takes us to the left on the division line
between East and West Wawanosh. We
turn right again at the first concession and
head east again through East Wawanosh
into the village of Belgrave.
Here's a village that may still be small
but is a long way from dying like some of
the others we've seen. It's a community
with a huge amount of spirit, not only in
the village itself but the surrounding
countryside. It has its own arena and many
local organizations. The last few years have
seen a minor building boom in the village
with many new _ homes built on a new
subdivision on the hillside. Another
subdivision is also being planned for the
west side of the village. It will be
interesting to see how all this growth will
affect the uniqueness the village has held
for years.
When we come , to Highway 4 in the
village we'll have to jog slightly to the right
before passing MacEwan's store and
heading up the hill eastward through the
village toward Brussels. The road is paved
until we get to the village limits. We're
now in Morris township with slightly
rolling farmland on either side of the road
and some nice old homes.
A few miles down the road you'll find it
curving beside a branch of the Maitland
river, a very pretty area. Keep going until
you come to County Road 12. Here you can
turn right if you like and explore Brussels,
which bills itself as the prettiest village in
Canada. There are some nice riverside
picnic areas and an old mill which will ,
someday, hopefully, be restored as an
historic site.
We'll head north on County road 12 (left
from the corner if you prefer to by-pass
Brussels) and take the smooth route for a
while. Up the road a piece is the hamlet of
Jamestown which you'd hardly know was a
community at all if not for the roadsign.
There's an interesting health -food shop
here though that seems to be the one point
of distinction for the place any more.
North of Jamestown you'll come to the
junction of Highway 86 and turn left. It
isn't long now before you come to the edge
of the village of Bluevale. Turn left onto the
main street of the village just before you
come to the junction of Highways 86 and
87. It's a quiet village with some
interesting old shops now mostly empty or
converted to use for houses. Through the
main street you'll come down the hill to the
mill and the river and on either your right
or left sides you'll see parks. On the left is
the mill pond and dam. If you have a picnic
lunch along this is one of several places you
might like to stop at.
Turn back up main street again and turn
left on the street taking you out to Highway
86 again. Turn left and head westward
toward Wingham. The road takes a few
curves and nestled in one of these curves is
another picnic site. You'll also pass several
beautiful fieldstone houses and, on your
left, the big sign marking the site of the
1978 International Plowing Match.
We're headed into Wingham now. Here
we'll give you an option. If you're in a
hurry or like to stick to paved roads, you
can continue right along Highway 86 past
Wingham to Lucknow. If you're feeling as
adventurous as we were this particular
day, then head north into Wingham and
we'll take some back roads. You can go into
Wingham either from the junction of
Highways 86 and 4 or turn sooner and go
along Diagonal Road. In the town which
proudly proclaims itself the Television
Radio Town of Canada there are some
interesting shops and some good eating
places if you need a break.
. Head north over the Maitland River and
the beautiful Riverside Park area until you
come to the B Line road and turn left, to the
west. You're going through the industrial
section of Wingham here, then past the
cemetery and into some rugged rolling
countryside that takes you high on the
hills. then plunges you dawn into the